India consumes almost as much whisky as the rest of the world put together. Distilled alcoholic beverages that are labelled as whisky in India are commonly blends, with only a small portion consisting of traditional malt whisky.
Amrut, the first single malt whisky produced in India, was launched in 2004.
Amrut Fusion gets its name from the fact that it uses two barleys: Indian and Scottish - with the latter being peated for good measure. Fusion has been picking up awards ever since it first appeared in 2009, and in 2012 was named the best whisky for a Rob Roy in the Ultimate Cocktail Challenge in New York.
The new 46% Amruts are a very different proposition to the pleasant but unexciting original release. At the higher strength this 24ppm peated effort fairly fizzes along the tastebuds. This is excellent - hugely improved stuff from a distillery coming along in leaps and bounds.
Continuing the run of impressive cask strength bottlings, this edition from Amrut clocks in at a pokey 61.8% and promises their usual balance of spice and fruit.
From Amrut distillery, founded in 1948, just one year after Indian independence, this is a stormingly hot and spicy whisky, peated and bottled at a punchy cask strength of 62.8%.
More woody experimentation from the folks at Amrut, maturing the Portonova first in a combination of new american oak and ex-bourbon barrels, then moving it to refill port pipes and then back into ex-bourbon casks. It combines the traditional vanilla and coconut flavours with the rich fruit you'd expect from a port cask for an interesting mix.
A new concept from Amrut. The spirit for Intermediate Sherry Matured starts life in a mix of ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks. It is then transferred to sherry casks for a period before going back into bourbon casks to complete its maturation. There's been a huge buzz about this, and we've only got a small allocation,
The second release of Amrut's Double Cask is a blend of two whiskies: one aged in a bourbon cask from June 2009 and one PX sherry cask from May 2010. This shows excellent balance between sweet vanilla and coconut flavours from American oak and rich fruit from the European wood.
The first ever release of Indian single malt rye. Made with European rye and aged for five years in American oak, this is fruity and floral with notes of sweet spice. A unique whisky that's much more elegant than is usual for Amrut.
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